Chapter 187: How Could I Accept This?

Anna said, “Caroline, you know what? I feel really lucky to be Andrew’s sister. If it weren’t for Andrew, I would never have been taken in by Frederick.”

“What? Frederick?”

Caroline vividly remembered the shock she felt upon hearing Frederick’s name. In Kingstown, everyone knew him. He was the second son of the Hawthorne family and was like a god. He was decisive and invincible on the battlefield. More importantly, he was aloof and abstinent, keeping his distance from women. Every woman wanted to marry him.

The first time Caroline saw Frederick trending, she was captivated by his disheveled appearance on the battlefield. It was a scene recorded by a war journalist during an anti-terrorist operation. Rumor had it that Frederick was facing one of the world’s largest terrorist organizations. Those terrorists had countless lives on their hands, were ruthless, and went on rampages, killing, looting, and raping without restraint. For years, no army had ever returned alive from an encounter with them. Yet, Frederick had fought his way out of this well-organized and formidable group.

In the trending video, Frederick was holding a sniper rifle, intently focusing on the enemy before him. His hair was disheveled, his forehead stained with blood, and his face bore the scars of battle. But his eyes were resolute and fearless. Dressed in a dark green military uniform, he looked sharp and righteous, providing a sense of security amidst the chaos of war. It was a sense of security so strong that even in hell, one would feel no fear; a sense of security that made one willing to follow him, even if the path ahead was treacherous. If he told them to trust him, they would follow him without hesitation.

From that moment on, Caroline was smitten with Frederick. But she knew that, given her status, she would never have any connection with him.

Caroline never imagined that Anna would end up living in the Halfmoon Manor, and it was all because of Andrew. But Anna was not his only sister; Caroline was too.

That night, Anna, drunk, pulled Caroline aside and talked endlessly about her and Frederick. Anna told Caroline that Frederick seemed to like her, but it might just be because of Andrew’s lifesaving debt to him. Anna also told Caroline how good Frederick was to her, saying she never imagined she could live such an unrestrained and noble life. It was like being a pampered princess in a novel. Anna shared every detail with Caroline. But what Anna didn’t know was that the more she talked, the more Caroline hated her. They were both Andrew’s sisters, and she was not inferior to Anna. Anna dropped out after high school to work, while Caroline had gone to college. The resentment that had been building up since childhood reached its peak that night.

Later, the truth about Anna and Claire’s identities came to light. Caroline’s hatred grew even stronger, and she wanted to kill everyone. Claire was the pampered daughter of the Prescott family, and she had known Frederick since childhood. But these two women were her childhood friend and her real sister who had been swapped at birth and sent to the Prescott family.

During those days, Caroline furiously stabbed dolls, imagining they were Effie, Claire, and Anna. She hated Effie for not sending her to the Prescott family to enjoy a life of wealth. She resented Claire for growing up in the Prescott family, the wealthiest household. She hated Anna for moving into Frederick’s house because of Andrew’s death. But what she hated most was realizing that she had once believed she would never cross paths with Frederick in her lifetime, only to discover, in the end, that every opportunity she should have had was mistakenly taken by others. She found it hard to accept.